2-2-1 Jinnan
Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-01
Japan
History of Japan Broadcasting Corporation (Nippon Hoso Kyokai)
The Japan Broadcasting Corporation, better known as NHK, is Japan's national public broadcasting network, as established under the 1950 Broadcast Law. The company is administered by a board of governors appointed by the prime minister and is supported by public fees, which are collected from viewers through a funding arrangement called "receiving fees." Everyone in Japan with a television set within range of NHK broadcasts is required by the Broadcast Law to pay the company a fee. Through programming that is similar to that of the United States's Public Broadcasting System, NHK airs a variety of educational, cultural, entertainment, and news programs.
In addition to operating two terrestrial and two satellite television channels, NHK operates three conventional radio networks and Japan's shortwave radio service. The company also conducts broadcast media-related research through the NHK Technical Research Laboratories and the NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute.
NHK traces its origins to the Tokyo Broadcasting Station, which aired Japan's first radio transmission on March 22, 1925. Tokyo Broadcasting was established with a license from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. The radio station was then incorporated under government charter in August of 1926 as Nippon Hoso Kyokai, the Japan Broadcasting Corporation. As Japan's national broadcaster, NHK was in a unique position to reach the Japanese people, spread over four, large, mountainous islands, roughly all at the same time. Through NHK the country as a whole was able to hear live broadcasts of such important events as the special programs aired to celebrate the enthronement of Emperor Hirohito in November, 1928.
In June of 1930, the company formed a research laboratory in order to explore technological advances that would further the broadcasting industry. That same year, the first international radio transmission was received successfully from London, England, setting the stage for regularly scheduled overseas broadcasting. Under the name Radio Tokyo, broadcasting of daily English- and Japanese-language programs to the Pacific Coast of North America began on June 1, 1935.
After establishing a second radio network in April of 1931, NHK became more involved in current events, providing newspaper-format news programming and coverage of the 1932 Olympic games in Los Angeles. Three years later NHK began broadcasting school lessons, as part of a national effort to standardize the country's educational curriculum and extend learning to remote areas.
However, with the rise of militarism in Japan, NHK, as well as other media, eventually fell under the control of the government. Through the late 1930s, NHK gradually lost its impartial tone and soon was dominated by imperialist rhetoric. It was through the network that Japanese public opinion was effectively galvanized against European imperialists who, it was charged, had colonized Asia.
At this time, experimental television broadcasting was being carried out at NHK's laboratories. Before any regular application could be established, however, the Japanese became distracted by the country's war in China and, later, the war in the Pacific. Virtually all technological development was diverted to military projects, including the establishment of military communications throughout Japan's theater of war operations.
NHK, in the meantime, had become largely an instrument of government propaganda, though efforts were also made to provide the people with helpful information. For example, toward the end of the war, when Japan was suffering from shortages, NHK broadcast directions on how to produce food from common plants, and even tea, so that people could avoid starvation.
When Emperor Hirohito addressed the nation in August of 1945, he did so over NHK. It was the first time anyone but a small circle of advisors had ever heard his voice. He announced the surrender of Japan to Allied forces.
No longer under the control of the government, NHK broadcasted important news to the Japanese people about the occupation, the formation of a new government, and the establishment of new laws. One of those new laws, enacted in June of 1950, was the Broadcast Law, which established NHK as a special corporation under the direction of a board of governors. This law laid out special provisions designed to guarantee the impartiality and journalistic integrity of NHK, so that it could never again be used as a propaganda device.
Resuming work on technological development, NHK conducted a successful trial of color television broadcasting in March of 1952. The first rudimentary stereo radio broadcasts were also tried that year, using two different AM frequencies. Experiments with FM broadcasts commenced five years later in Tokyo, and regular FM programming began in 1969.
The shortwave station, Radio Tokyo--having suspended transmission at the end of World War II--resumed operation on February 1, 1952, under the name Radio Japan. Its new mission, in the postwar era, was to promote better understanding of Japanese culture and to provide Japanese people living abroad with news and entertainment from their homeland. The station broadcasted in several languages, including English, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, and Indonesian.
NHK entered a new era in February of 1953 when the broadcaster began providing television services, initially aired four hours per day. Though there were few commercial reasons to start a television station--Tokyo could only claim about 900 television sets--NHK forged ahead. The company provided a catalyst for other television broadcasters to enter this new medium, spurring growth in the industry. Only months after hitting the airwaves, NHK provided a live telecast of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in England. The next year, the company began recorded programming with kinescopes, enabling it to repeat broadcasts and produce fully-rehearsed programs.
The television service became immensely popular, particularly after the entry of Fuji Television, Nippon Television, and Tokyo Broadcasting. The rapid commercialization of the new medium enabled these television services to quickly incorporate new technologies, including color broadcasting, which NHK introduced in August of 1960. Nationwide color broadcast capability was completed in 1966, and by 1971 all General TV programs were being broadcast in color.
While NHK began educational television programming with the opening of a second network, Educational TV, in January of 1959, another network, Nippon Educational Television, began broadcasting to a similar audience only a few weeks later. NET and NHK continued to operate educational programs in tandem for several years until 1973, when NET formally became the commercial network TV Asahi.
NHK was an early pioneer of satellite transmission technology. Virtually as soon as the first public circuits were opened, NHK began news feeds from the United States, Europe, and Africa. The first use of live satellite coverage came on November 22, 1963, when reports on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy were carried live on NHK.
With the proliferation of television broadcasting in Japan, particularly within the heavily populated urban areas, the airwaves were soon depleted of available frequencies. Therefore, NHK began experimental transmissions in the new UHF frequencies. The first of these put to practical use were on special NHK stations in Tokyo and Osaka during 1971.
NHK's charter in the Broadcast Law mandated the company's responsibility for airing programs of a more culturally complex nature than commercial television could afford to support. Aside from educational programming, NHK carried symphonies, opera performances, interviews, and documentaries. This programming, however, needed an appropriate venue, and NHK obliged in 1973, with the construction of a massive broadcasting complex and a theater, NHK Hall.
While culturally enriching, these programs did not draw tremendous audiences, though the shows did serve to make these subjects more popular than they might have been. To provide some variety in their programming format, NHK began airing baseball games--extremely popular in Japan--boxing, soccer and the Olympic games.
NHK was one of the first networks to try direct broadcasting, that is, beaming a signal directly to viewers' televisions from a satellite. DBS, as it was called, provided several advantages over the terrestrial network, the most important of which was high quality reception throughout Japan. Since 70 percent of Japan is mountainous, it had thus far been difficult for many viewers living in valleys and less populated areas to receive quality radio and television transmissions. Even NHK, with the most complete network in Japan, covering approximately 95 percent of the country, would benefit from DBS, which would enable huge areas to receive high-quality signals at a much lower cost than a network of ground-based relay stations.
NHK's first DBS tests took place in July of 1978. Based on these tests, NHK developed the MUSE system, designed for the transmission of high-definition television (HDTV) signals. Hi-Vision, as HDTV is called in Japan, was demonstrated at the Tsukuba Science Expo in 1985. Using its research facility, NHK became a participant in a Japanese consortium, the Hi-Vision Promotion Association (HPA), working to broadcast HDTV.
Two DBS satellites were launched in January of 1984 and February of 1986, aboard Japanese N-2 and H-1 rockets, allowing NHK, among other users, to begin experimental DBS broadcasts in May of 1984. A regular 24-hour service began three years later and had about 150,000 viewers. When the second DBS channel went on line on June 3, 1989, there were more than 1.5 million viewers. The service was available to anyone with a television and a parabolic antenna. Two more satellites were launched in 1990 and 1991. These satellites beamed two NHK channels--by 1992 the number of viewers had grown to 6 million--and a third operated by the commercial consortium, Japan Satellite Broadcasting Corp.
In October of 1983, NHK began teletext broadcasting, which delivers subtitles to hearing impaired viewers, in Tokyo and Osaka. An improved service was introduced two years later, and by 1986, the entire network was equipped for teletext service. In addition, in 1985, the company also started an Emergency Warning Broadcasting System. Intended for use in the event of natural or other disasters, the system was employed several times to warn viewers of severe weather, tsunamis, and, on one occasion, a volcanic eruption.
In addition to NHK's two terrestrial television stations, General TV and Educational TV, the broadcaster operates two DBS stations, Satellite Television Channel One and Channel Two. Some of the more popular programs on NHK television are Asia Now, NHK Morning Magazine, and American NFL football games. NHK also operates news-oriented Radio 1 and the educational Radio 2 on medium wave (AM), an FM music network, and the shortwave-frequency Radio Japan. NHK operates shortwave relay stations in Canada, Singapore, French Guiana, Sri Lanka, Gabon, and Britain.
Since its establishment under the Broadcast Law of 1950, NHK has been administered by a board of governors chosen by the prime minister and approved by both houses of Parliament. The 12-member board is responsible for appointing the president and a group of auditors, who survey the president's business practices. In addition, NHK's strategic and operating policies, including the annual budget and programming plans, are determined by the board. The budget and operational plans are then submitted to the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, who reviews the material, which is passed on to the Cabinet and, finally, to Parliament for approval.
Accepting governmental financial support only for overseas shortwave services, NHK's operating budget is financed through receiving fee contracts with television owners, originally collected door-to-door or through bank transfer. In the 1970s, however, automatic bank transfers were introduced and in the early 1990s represented the method of payment used by more than 60 percent of the contracted households. NHK charges ¥1,320 each month for regular channels and an additional ¥930 for DBS reception.
Through this unusual funding mechanism, NHK operates Japan's largest broadcast network, completely without commercial support. In addition the company has always been at the forefront of technological advancements in the industry. NHK is more than a broadcaster, it is in many ways a broadcast laboratory.
Principal Subsidiaries: NHK Enterprises, Inc.; NHK Educational Corporation; NHK Creative Co., Ltd.; NHK Software, Inc.; NHK Joho Network, Inc.; NHK Promotion Co., Ltd.; NHK Art, Inc.; NHK Technical Services, Inc.; Japan Broadcast Publishing Co., Ltd.; NHK Kinki Media Plan, Inc.; NHK Nagoya Brains, Inc.; NHK Chugoku Software & Planning, Inc.; NHK Kyushu Media, Inc.; NHK Tohoku Planning, Inc.; NHK Hokkaido Vision, Inc.; NHK Sogo Business, Inc.; NHK Integrated Technology, Inc.; NHK Culture Center, Inc.; NHK Computer Service, Inc.; NHK Business Service, Inc.; Print-Center, Inc.; NHK Service Center, Inc.; NHK International, Inc.; NHK Engineering Service, Inc.
Related information about Japan
Local name Nihon (Nippon)
Timezone GMT +9 Area
377 728 km²/145 803 sq mi
population total (2002e) 127 347 000 Status
Monarchy Capital Tokyo Language Japanese (official)
Ethnic groups Japanese (99%), with Korean minorities
Religions Shintoist (40%), Buddhist (39%), Christian (4%)
Physical features Island state comprising four large islands
(Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku) and several small islands;
consists mainly of steep mountains with many volcanoes; Hokkaido
(N) central range runs N-S, rising to over
2000 m/6500 ft, falling to coastal uplands and plains;
Honshu, the largest island, comprises parallel arcs of mountains
bounded by narrow coastal plains, and includes Mt Fuji,
3776 m/12 388 ft; heavily populated Kanto plain in
E; Shikoku and Kyushu (SW) consist of clusters of low cones and
rolling hills, mostly 1000–2000 m/3000–6000 ft; Ryukyu
chain of volcanic islands to the S, largest Okinawa; frequent
earthquakes notably in Kanto (1923), Kobe (1995). Climate
Oceanic climate, influenced by the Asian monsoon; heavy winter
rainfall on W coasts of Honshu and in Hokkaido; short, warm summers
in N, and severe winters, with heavy snow; variable winter weather
throughout Japan, especially in N and W; typhoons in summer and
early autumn; mild and almost subtropical winters in S Honshu,
Shikoku, and Kyushu; average annual temperatures 5°C (Jan), 25°C
(Jul) in Tokyo. Currency 1 Yen (JPY) = 100 sen
Economy Limited natural resources (less than 20% of land
under cultivation); intensive crop production (principally of
rice); timber, fishing, engineering, shipbuilding, textiles,
chemicals; major industrial developments since 1960s, especially in
computing, electronics, and vehicles. GDP (2002e)
$3·651 tn, per capita $28 700 Human Development
Index (2002) 0·933 History Originally occupied by the
Ainu; developed into small states, 4th-c; culture strongly
influenced by China, 7th-9th-c; ruled by feudal shoguns until power
passed to the emperor, 1867; limited contact with the West until
the Meiji Restoration, 1868; successful war with China, 1894–5;
gained Formosa (Taiwan) and S Manchuria; formed alliance with
Britain, 1902; war with Russia, 1904–5; Russia ceded southern half
of Sakhalin; Korea annexed, 1910; joined allies in World War 1,
1914; received German Pacific islands as mandates, 1919; war with
China; occupied Manchuria, 1931–2; renewed fighting, 1937; entered
World War 2 with surprise attack on the US fleet at Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii, 1941; occupied British and Dutch possessions in SE Asia,
1941–2; pushed back during 1943–5; atomic bombs dropped on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki by allied forces in 1945, ending World War 2
with Japanese surrender; allied control commission took power, and
Formosa and Manchuria returned to China; Emperor Hirohito became
figurehead ruler, 1946; full sovereignty regained, 1952; joined
United Nations, 1958; strong economic growth in 1960s; regained
Bonin, Okinawa, and Volcano Islands, 1972; a constitutional
monarchy with Emperor as Head of State; government consists of a
Prime Minister, Cabinet, and bicameral Diet (Kokkai), with a House
of Representatives and a House of Councillors. Located in the
Pacific Ocean, it
lies to the east of China,
Korea, and Russia, stretching from the
Sea of Okhotsk in
the north to the East
China Sea in the south. Its capital is Tokyo.
At over 377,872 square kilometres (145,898 sq mi), Japan is the 62nd largest country by area. It encompasses over 3,000
islands, the largest of which are Honsh?, Hokkaid?, Ky?sh? and Shikoku. Most of Japan's islands are mountainous, and
many are volcanic,
including the highest peak, Mount Fuji. The Greater Tokyo Area, with over 30 million
residents, is the largest metropolitan area in the world.
Archaeological
research indicates that people were living on the islands of Japan
as early as the upper paleolithic period. The first written mention of
Japan begins with brief appearances in Chinese history texts
from the 1st century AD. Its
culture today is a mixture of outside and internal
influences.
Since it adopted its constitution on May
3, 1947, Japan has
maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected
parliament, the Diet, which is one of the oldest legislative bodies in
Asia. Japan is an economic
world power with the
world's second largest economy, and is the sixth largest
exporter and importer and is a member of the
United Nations,
G8, G4, and APEC. -->
Jomon and Yayoi eras
The first signs of civilization appeared around 10,000 BC with the
Jomon culture,
characterized by a mesolithic to neolithic semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer
lifestyle of pit dwelling and a rudimentary form of agriculture.Many believe
that the Ainu, an
indigenous people found mostly on the northern island of Hokkaid?, are descended from
the Jomon and thus represent descendants of the first inhabitants
of Japan. The Jomon people made decorated clay vessels, often with
plaited patterns.
- Alternatively, the Metropolitan
Museum of Art's Timeline of Art History www.metmuseum.org/toah/splash.htm
notes "Carbon-14 testing of the earliest known shards has yielded
a production date of about 10,500 B.C., but because this date
falls outside the known chronology of pottery development
elsewhere in the world, such an early date is not generally
accepted". www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/02/eaj/ht02eaj.htm.
The Yayoi
period, starting around 300 BC, marked the influx of new
practices such as rice
farming and iron and
bronze-making brought by
migrants from continental East Asia. Japan first appears in written history in 57
AD, in China's Book of Later Han, as "the people of Wa, formed from more than
one hundred tribes." In the 3rd century, according to China's
Book of Wei, the
most powerful kingdom in Japan was called Yamataikoku.
Classical era
The Yamato
period, from the 3rd century to the 7th century, saw the
establishment of a dominant polity centered in the Yamato area whence arose
the Japanese
imperial lineage.
The kingdom of Baekje
introduced Buddhism to
Japan, and it was promoted by the Japanese ruling class. ISBN
0804705232) Prince
Sh?toku devoted his efforts to the spread of Buddhism and Chinese culture in
Japan. He is credited with bringing relative peace to Japan through
the proclamation of the Seventeen-article constitution.
Starting with the Taika Reform Edicts of 645, the Yamato court intensified
the adoption of Chinese cultural practices and reorganized the
government and the penal code based on the Chinese administrative
structure of the timeThis is in reference to the Ritsury?. This period also saw
the first use of the word as a name for the emerging state.
The Nara period of
the 8th century marked the first emergence of a strong Japanese
state, centered around an imperial court in the city of Heij?-ky?. According to
them Japan was founded in 660 BC by Emperor Jimmu, a descendant of the Shinto deity Amaterasu (the Sun Goddess).
Historians, however, believe the first emperor who actually existed
was Emperor ?jin,
though the date of his reign is uncertain.citeneeded
In the Heian
period, from 794 to 1185, a distinctly indigenous culture
emerged, noted for its art, especially poetry and literature.
Medieval era
Japan's medieval era
was characterized by the emergence of a ruling class of warriors,
the samurai. In 1185,
following the defeat of the rival Taira clan, Minamoto no Yoritomo was appointed Sh?gun and established a base of
power in Kamakura. The Kamakura shogunate managed to repel Mongol
invasions in 1274 and 1281, with assistance from a storm that
the Japanese interpreted as a kamikaze, or
Divine Wind. The ?nin
War (1467 to 1477) is generally regarded as the onset of the
"Warring States" or Sengoku period.
During the 16th century, traders and missionaries from Portugal reached Japan for the first time,
initiating the Nanban ("southern barbarian") period of active
commercial and cultural exchange between Japan and the West.
Oda Nobunaga
conquered numerous other daimyo by using European technology
and firearms, and had
almost unified the nation when he was assassinated in the "Incident at
Honn?ji" in 1582. Hideyoshi twice
invaded Korea, but was thwarted by Korean and Ming Chinese forces.
Edo era
After Hideyoshi's death, Tokugawa Ieyasu utilized his position as the
regent of Hideyoshi's son Toyotomi Hideyori as well as the conflicts among
loyalists of the Toyotomi clan, to gain the support of warlords from
across Japan. Ieyasu was appointed sh?gun in 1603 and established the Tokugawa shogunate at
Edo (modern Tokyo).
After defeating Toyotomi clan, at the Siege of Osaka in 1614
and 1615, the Tokugawas became rulers of Japan, setting up a
centralized feudal system with the Tokugawa shogunate at the head
of the feudal
domains. The study of Western sciences, known as rangaku, continued during
this period through contacts with the Dutch enclave at Dejima in Nagasaki.
Modern Japan
On March 31,
1854, Commodore Matthew
Perry and the "Black
Ships" of the United States Navy forced the opening of Japan to the
West with the Convention of Kanagawa. One of the main figures that
helped bring change was Fukuzawa Yukichi who wrote the article "Leaving Asia", encouraging
Japanese people to be open to change and modernize through Westernization.
Japan adopted numerous Western institutions, including a modern
government, legal system and military. Japan introduced a parliamentary
system modeled after the British
parliament, with It? Hirobumi as first Prime Minister in 1882.
The Meiji era reforms helped transform the Empire of Japan into a
world power and
embarked on number of military conflicts to increase access to
natural resources with victories in the First Sino-Japanese
War (1894-1895) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). By 1910, Japan
controlled Korea, Taiwan and the southern half of
Sakhalin. Next year,
the unequal
treaties Japan had signed with western powers were
canceled.
The early 20th century saw a brief period of "Taish? In 1936, Japan
signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Germany, later joining the Axis Powers alliance in
1941.
Japan subsequently attacked the rest of China, starting the Second
Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) and many countries and islands in
southeast Asia
and the Pacific. In
1941, after suffering from oil embargoes and diplomatic pressure from the United States, United Kingdom and the
Netherlands, Japan
attacked the
United States naval base in Pearl Harbor in response and
declared war on those three powers. Germany subsequently declared war on the United
States four days later, bringing the U.S. into World War II.
After a long campaign in the Pacific War, Japan gradually lost its initial
territorial gains. American forces advanced far enough to begin the
strategic
bombing of cities like Tokyo and Osaka, resulting in the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which together killed about 214,000 people
(mostly civilians).
Possibly the most extensive review and analysis of the various
death toll estimates is in:
After the atomic bombings, Imperial Japan agreed to an unconditional
surrender library.educationworld.net/txt15/surrend1.html. The
formal surrender documents were signed September 2, 1945 (V-J Day). The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (on
May 31946) was convened to prosecute
Japanese leaders for crimes against peace and humanity as well as war crimes
including the Nanking Massacre. In 1947, Japan adopted a new pacifist constitution,
seeking international cooperation and emphasizing human rights and
democratic practices. Official American occupation lasted until 1952 and Japan
was granted membership of the United Nations in 1956. This ended in the 1990s,
when Japan suffered a major recession from which it has since been
slowly recovering.news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5178822.stm
Government and politics
In academic studies, Japan is generally considered a constitutional
monarchy, based largely upon the British system with strong
influences from European continental civil law
countries such as Germany and France.
The Diet
The Constitution of Japan states that the nation's "highest
organ of state power" is its bicameral parliament, the National Diet (Kokkai). There is universal
adult (over 20 years old) suffrage, with a secret ballot for all elective offices.
The liberal
conservative Liberal
Democratic Party (LDP) has been in power since 1955, except for
a short-lived coalition government formed from its opposition parties
in 1993;
The Prime Minister
The Prime
Minister is the head of government of Japan, although the literal
translation of the title is "Prime Minister of the Cabinet". The
Prime Minister is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after
being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the
confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office.
The Judiciary
Japanese law was historically heavily influenced by Chinese law and developed
independently during the Edo period through texts such as Kujikata
Osadamegaki, but has been largely based on the civil law of Germany since the late 19th
century. Japan is a member state of the United Nations and
currently serving as a non-permanent Security
Council member. It is also one of the "G4 nations" seeking permanent
membership in the Security Council.
Japan is a member of the G8,
the APEC, the "ASEAN plus three", and a participant in the East Asia Summit.
PDFlink As member of the
G8 Japan maintains cordial relations with most countries as a key
trading partner.
Japan has several territorial disputes with its neighbors
concerning the control of certain outlying islands. Japan also has
an ongoing dispute with North Korea over its abduction of Japanese citizens and its nuclear weapons and missile programs.
Military
Japan's military is restricted by Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan of 1946, which states that
"Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and
order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign
right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of
settling international disputes." Thus, Japan's current
constitution prohibits the use of military force to wage war
against other countries.
Japan's military is governed by the Japan Defense
Agency (JDA) and primarily consists of the Japan Ground
Self-Defense Force, the Japan
Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the Japan Air
Self-Defense Force. The forces have been recently used in
peacekeeping
operations and the deployment of Japanese troops to Iraq marked the first
overseas use of its military since World War II. The former city of Tokyo is further divided into
23 special
wards, which have the same powers as cities.
Japan is currently undergoing administrative reorganization by merging many of the cities, towns, and
villages with each other. This process will reduce the number of
sub-prefecture administrative regions, and is expected to cut
administrative costs.siteresources.worldbank.org/WBI/Resources/wbi37175.pdf
Mabuchi, Masaru, "Municipal Amalgamation in Japan," World Bank,
2001.
Geography
Japan, a country of islands, extends along the eastern or Pacific coast of Asia. The main islands, running
from north to south, are Hokkaid??????,
Honsh????,?or the
mainland), Shikoku????,
and Ky?sh?????. In
addition, about 3,000 smaller islands may be counted in the full
extent of the archipelago.
In some maps published in Japan, the Kuril Islands also are
marked as territory of Japan. About 70 to 80% of the country is
forested, mountainous
encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761566679/Japan.html
"Japan," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2006
Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, at the juncture of three tectonic
plates, gives Japan frequent low-intensity earth tremors and
occasional volcanic activity. Precipitation is light.
- Seto Inland
Sea: The mountains of the Ch?goku and Shikoku regions shelter the region from the seasonal
winds, bringing mild weather throughout the year.
- Pacific Ocean: The east coast experiences cold winters with
little snowfall and hot, humid summers due to the southeast
seasonal wind.
- Southwest
Islands: The Ry?ky? Typhoons are common.
The main rainy season
begins in early May in Okinawa, and the stationary rain front
responsible for this gradually works its way north until it
dissipates in northern Japan before reaching Hokkaid? and Bonin
islands, to temperate broadleaf and mixed forests in the mild
climate regions of the main islands, to temperate
coniferous forests in the cold, winter portions of the northern
islands.
Economy
Japan is an economic world power, with free-market economy ranking second by market exchange rates (with GDP at over $4.5 trillion in 2005) and third after United States and China by purchasing power
parity. As a result it is dependent on other nations for most
of its raw materials.
Government-industry cooperation, a strong
work ethic, mastery
of high technology,
and a comparatively small defense allocation have helped Japan advance with
extraordinary speed to become the second largest economy in the
world. Hence, the Japanese government predicts that recovery will
continue in 2006.
Distinguishing characteristics of the Japanese economy include the
cooperation of manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and banks in
closely-knit groups called keiretsu(these being Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, Fuyo,
Mitsui, Dai-Ichi Kangyo and
Sanwa); cosy relations
with government bureaucrats, and the guarantee of lifetime employment
(shushin koyo) in big corporations and highly unionized blue-collar factories.
Please add new information there.-->
Japan is among the world's largest and most technologically
advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships,
chemical, textiles, and processed foods, and is
home to some of the largest and most well-known multinational
corporations and commercial brands (see list of Japanese companies). Banking, insurance, real estate, retailing, transportation,
and telecommunications are all major industries.
Japan holds very large market shares in high technology
industries such as electronics, industrial chemicals, machine tools,
electronic
media and (in recent years) aerospace.
Science and technology
Japan is a leading nation in scientific research
and the production of innovative technological products. Some of the most
important industrial contributions include chemicals, metals, semiconductors, robotics, entertainment, machinery, industrial robotics
and optics. It is also
one of the leading nations in health care and medical research and robotics having produced QRIO, ASIMO,
and Aibo, and possesses
more than half (402,200 of 742,500) of the world's industrial
robots used for manufacturing.www.unece.org/press/pr2000/00stat10e.htm
Japan is making headway into aerospace research and space exploration. It
founded its aerospace
exploration agency, Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency in October 1, 2003 and is involved in many missions and projects, as
well as a possible independent manned mission to the moon, having, from 2005, shifted some of its focus
away from international efforts. Japan must import about 50%
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requirements of grain and
fodder crops other than rice, and relies on imports for most of its
supply of meat.
In fishing, Japan is ranked second in the world behind China in tonnage of fish caught.
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Infrastructure and transportation
Japan is unique in that its electric power
transmission runs at different frequencies in different parts of the country —
The household power line voltage is constant 100 V throughout the nation.
Japan has 1,177,278 km
of paved roadways, 173 airports, and 23,577 km of railways as of 2004. Its main export partners are the
US 22.7%, China 13.1%, South Korea 7.8%, Taiwan 7.4% and Hong Kong 6.3%.
Japan's main exports are transport equipment, motor vehicles, electronics, electrical
machinery and chemicals.
As a nation that relies heavily on international trade,
Japan also imports a wide variety of goods. Its main import
partners are China 20.7%,
US 14%, South Korea 4.9%, Australia 4.3%, Indonesia 4.1%, Saudi Arabia 4.1%, UAE 4% (as of 2004). Japan's main
imports are machinery and equipment, fossil fuels, foodstuffs (in particular beef), chemicals, textiles and raw materials for its industries.
Demographics
Population
.
Japan has the highest life expectancy in the world: 85.2 years for women and
78.3 years for men (in 2002).Vital statistics
summary and expectation of life at birth: 1999-2003, United
Nations Statistics Division. Immigration, however, is not popular
as recent increased crime
rates are often attributed to foreigners living in Japan.
Largest cities
Japan has dozens of major
cities, which play an important role in Japan culture,
heritage, and economy.
| No. |
Prefecture |
City |
Population |
Rank
|
| 01 |
Tokyo |
Tokyo(23
special wards) |
8,390,967 |
23 special
wards/The capital of Japan/Prefecture
capital |
| 02 |
Kanagawa |
Yokohama |
3,579,133 |
[[City designated by government ordinance (Japan)|
Government Ordinance City]] / Prefecture capital
|
| 03 |
Osaka |
Osaka |
2,640,097 |
Government Ordinance City / Prefecture capital
|
| 04 |
Aichi |
Nagoya |
2,214,958 |
Government Ordinance City / Prefecture capital
|
| 05 |
Hokkaid? |
Sapporo |
1,882,424 |
Government Ordinance City / Prefecture capital
|
| 06 |
Hy?go |
Kobe |
1,525,389 |
Government Ordinance City / Prefecture capital
|
| 07 |
Kyoto |
Kyoto |
1,474,764 |
Government Ordinance City / Prefecture capital
|
| 08 |
Fukuoka |
Fukuoka |
1,400,621 |
Government Ordinance City / Prefecture capital
|
| 09 |
Kanagawa |
Kawasaki |
1,317,862 |
Government Ordinance City
|
| 10 |
Saitama |
Saitama |
1,185,030 |
Government Ordinance City / Prefecture capital
|
Language
Japan's official language is Japanese (Nihongo), and about 99% of the population speaks
Japanese as their first language. The Ryukyuan languages,
also part of the Japonic language family to which Japanese belongs, are
spoken in Okinawa, but
few children are learning these languages now. Ainu, the language of the
indigenous minority, is moribund, with only a few elderly native speakers remaining
in Hokkaid?. Most
public and private schools require students to take courses in both
Japanese and English.
The Japanese
language is an agglutinative language distinguished by a system of
honorifics
reflecting the hierarchical nature of Japanese society, with verb forms
and particular vocabulary which indicate the relative status of
speaker and listener. The writing system uses kanji (Chinese characters) and two sets of kana (syllabaries based on simplified forms of Chinese
characters), as well as the Roman alphabet and Hindu-Arabic
numerals.
Religion
84% of Japanese people profess to believe both Shinto (the indigenous religion
of Japan) and Buddhismwww.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ja.html#People.
Religion in Japan tends to be syncretic in nature, and this results in a variety of
practices such as parents and children celebrating Shinto rituals, students praying
before exams, couples holding a wedding at a Christian church and funerals being held at
Buddhist temples. A
minority (0.7%) profess to Christianity and other religions (4.7%) like shamanism, Islam, and Hinduism. Almost all
children continue their education at a three-year senior high school, and, according
to basic statics of MEXT, 67.5% of high school graduates attend a
university, junior college, trade
school, or other post-secondary institution in 2006. Japan's education is very
competitive especially at the college level and it has prestigious
and large universities such as University of Tokyo,
University of
Tohoku, Keio
University, Waseda University,Kyoto University,and Hitotsubashi
University.
Culture
Japanese culture has
evolved greatly over the years, from the country's original
Jomon culture to its
contemporary hybrid culture, which combines influences from
Asia, Europe, and North America.
Traditional Japanese
arts include crafts (ikebana, origami, ukiyo-e, dolls, lacquerware, pottery), performances (bunraku, dance, kabuki, noh,
rakugo), traditions
(games,
tea
ceremony, bud?,
architecture, gardens, swords), and cuisine.
Post-war Japan has been heavily influenced by American and European
culture which has led to the evolution of popular band music
(called J-Pop). The fusion
of traditional woodprinting and Western art led to the creation of
manga, a typically
Japanese comic book
format that is now popular in and even outside Japan.
Cuisine
A basic, traditional Japanese meal consists of white Japanese rice with
accompanying tsukemono
(pickles), a bowl of soup, and dishes known as okazu -
fish, meat and vegetable dishes. Foods from
Japan, such as sushi and
ramen, and beverages
including green tea
and sake are recognized
worldwide. The accompanied recitative of the Noh drama dates from the 14th century and the popular
folk music, with the guitarlike shamisen, from the 16th.The Concise Columbia
Encyclopedia 1983 edition ISBN:0-380-63396-5 © Columbia University Press
Western music,
introduced in the late 19th century, now forms an integral part of
the culture, as evident from the profusion of J-Pop artists.
Literature
The earliest works include two history books the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, and a
poetry book Man'y?sh? in the eighth century, all written in
Chinese characters.
In the early days of the Heian period, the system of transcription known as
kana (Hiragana
and Katakana) was
invented. The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is considered the
oldest Japanese narrative. Windows on asia
(Michigan State University) An account of Heian court life is given
by The Pillow
Book, written by Sei Sh?nagon while The Tale of Genji
by Lady
Murasaki is sometimes called the world's first novel.
During the Edo
Period, literature became not so much the field of the samurai
aristocracy as that of the ch?nin, the ordinary people. Natsume S?seki and
Mori ?gai were the
first "modern" novelists of Japan, followed by Akutagawa Ry?nosuke,
Tanizaki
Jun'ichir?, Kawabata Yasunari, Mishima Yukio, and more recently, Murakami Haruki.
Sports and recreation
Beginning in the 12th century Japan developed traditional martial arts known as
bud?, which were popular
among the warrior class. These include judo, karate and kend?. Sumo is
sometimes considered Japan's national sport and is one of its most
popular.
Baseball is
the most popular ball
game in Japan - the professional baseball league in Japan was
established in 1937. One of Japan's most famous baseball players in
major league
baseball is Suzuki
Ichiro, who won a Gold Glove. Japan was a venue of the Intercontinental Cup from 1981 to 2004, and Japan
co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup with South Korea. Rugby, golf,
table tennis,
various martial arts, and fishing are also popular in Japan, as is auto racing, Super GT sports car series and
Formula Nippon
formula racing.
Each year, Japan observes the second Monday in October as Health and Sports
Day. Other major sporting events that Japan has hosted include
the 1972 Winter
Olympics in Sapporo and the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.
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